Tips to Maximize Productivity Taking Online CME and CEU

IN A NUTSHELL:

• Nurses and physicians required to take courses
• Online education is extremely convenient
• Music can be helpful yet also be a distraction if not chosen correctly

The digital age created advantages and disadvantages welded together in a mesh much like the iconography of the eastern yin-yang.

On the one hand, you have more technological capability at your fingertips than in all human history. You can get a month’s worth of research done in a few hours online. Before, in a library, just the act of finding reference materials took time. Studying and learning was a much larger task before the web came.

Still, many students aren’t aware of these advantages.

On the other hand, the internet is also a distraction factory. If you’re not careful, you’ll get sucked into a world of memes and cat videos that turn your attention span into a number only expressible with decimals.

So with that in mind, in order to help you get the most out of online Continuing Medical Education courses for physicians and Continuing Education Units for nurses, we’ll explore several tips worth thinking about.

1. Close All Social Media Windows And Log Out
It’s not enough to avoid having Facebook, Twitter or Instagram up in one of the windows of your web browsers. You need to actively log out. If you don’t, even though you don’t have the windows open, you’ll have notifications break your “rhythm”.

Even if you don’t click the video, your train of thought has still been derailed. As a good rule of thumb for studying online, turn off all social media. There are other apps which can also send distracting updates such as news apps, shopping apps.

2. Instead of YouTube, Find Conducive Music
A lot of students these days prefer to have videos going on in the background of their research windows. You can “shrink” a YouTube video, and keep half an eye on it while you study. Well, this literally divides your attention. It’s a bad idea if you’re looking to absorb new information.

Music works better, but you need the right music.

Classic music, “trance” or “vibe” music, soft jazz—these are good choices. Punk, heavy metal, and dubstep are generally not good study options. However, sometimes it’s the preference of the listener which determines how effective one family of music is over another. Learn more about the benefits and drawbacks of listening to music while studying.

Regardless, background music (or silence) is better than video streaming while you study. The idea is to reduce whatever things divide attention.

On the other hand, music could have beneficial effects on your mental health. Music therapy is an emerging field of study which has shown potential for stress relief, alleviating depression, and easing symptoms of anxiety.

3. Find Courses Specifically Calibrated For Your Field Of Study
The United States Medical License Exam is a big deal, and if you’re going to pass this exam you’ll definitely need to prepare. A great strategy is using USMLE materials designed to help you ace this exam and obtain your license.

The USMLE isn’t the only resource where online study can benefit from specifically calibrated study materials. If you already graduated from medical school or nursing school, you know the importance and necessity of continuing medical education.

CME for Physicians and CEU for Nurses:

Continuing Medical Education (CME) allows a physician to learn and discover ways to improve patient care and advance their career. Due to the nature of the constantly changing industry, a healthcare provider, no matter their specialty, is bound to encounter an instance with a patient that they did not learn in medical school.

Continuing Education Units (CEU) for nurses are required for licensure renewal yet also allow a nurse to earn certification in a chosen specialty. This makes a nurse even more valuable to medical facilities and broadens their career opportunities.

Requirements are different depending upon a provider’s medical disciplines, yet they are equally important no matter the scope of practice.

Other benefits:

• Refine skills to improve overall patient care
• Stay current with the latest developments within their specialty
• Address real-world challenges that health care professionals face day to day
• Gain professional growth and a means to advance career status
• Meet licensing/certification requirements
• Learn effective medical team management skills
• Earn membership in professional organization

4. Have a Strong and Reliable Internet Connection
When the internet keeps going out on you, that’s frustrating. If you get 20 minutes of study for 10 minutes of fighting the web, that’s not a good ratio. It can be worthwhile to find a location where you can trust the web intrinsically, should your dorm, house, apartment, or local coffee shop not measure up.

5. Eliminate Other Distractions
Do you have loud, rowdy, partying roommates? Study away from them. Do you live where there’s a noisy auto shop? You might want to get away from that. Wherever there are distractions, you need to get away so you can focus on what you’re studying online. If you have hotspot capability and a solar panel, perhaps study in the country.

Don’t Wait, Start Now:
If you are thinking about learning new skills or strengthening your current scope of practice, why wait? Ready Doc™ Learning is 100% online with hundreds of free and premium CME for physicians and CEU for nurses on any device. Simply filter by accreditation, state, and profession to quickly find what you’re looking for.

Benefits of Ready Doc™ Learning:

• Take courses wherever, whenever, and however you want
• Earn, track, and store activities and certificates in one place
• Access courses on any device and format, including video, audio, and journals
• Enjoy a user-friendly, secure learning management system
• Fulfill your CME and CEU requirements for the year

Start taking CME or CEU courses today by creating a FREE account.

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